Children of the Sun
by LoonyTuned
Summary: It was the two of them against the world. She would do anything to fulfill her promise, to give him the life he deserves and cut down the ones who dared to make him bleed. He chased away her nightmares, protected her smile and remained at her side through thick and thin. NaruSaku strong friendship. AU.
1. Prologue

_**So I have another one. An AU multi-fic. I hope you like it!**_

* * *

 _ **Prologue**_

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto.

That name doesn't mean much to a lot of people, but to me, it means everything.

Miss Karin says I'm not old enough to use that term so easily, but I know that his importance in my life won't decrease even after a hundred-no, a _thousand_ years.

My first friend. My _best_ friend. Uzumaki Naruto.

Meeting him resulted in me making my first promise of a lifetime.

 _"Do you think...do you think we'll have to stay here forever?"_

The boy with the bright hair, and an even brighter smile, whose kindness brought him nothing but pain.

 _"I'll get you out of here. Even if I have to slay a thousand monsters, we'll get out. You and me. Together."_

* * *

She was running as fast as her little feet could carry her, whimpering at the blisters forming because of the torture her body was being put through.

 _Mommy-I can't-_

The faint voices closing in spurred her on, even as she wiped helplessly at the tears flowing down her cheeks. She couldn't let them catch her. They would make her bleed-just like mommy. She tightened her fist around the rock nestled safely inside it.

 _HELP._

Her mommy had told her to run. She sobbed at the last memory she had of her mother, covered in blood and smiling lovingly at her.

 _HELP ME._

They were the monsters she'd been scared of for so long. Her mother had assured her time and again that they weren't real, but they were and they took her away.

 _Mommy can't protect me anymore._

She was on her own.

She stumbled out of the treeline and fell to her knees, panting heavily, defeated and devastated.

 _I'm sorry._

She refused to look up as footsteps approached the spot where she kneeled, having given up at last.

"Are you lost, little girl?"

Head snapping up at the question, she stared at the friendly looking man in front of her, dressed in a plain green tunic and brown pants.

 _Normal. He was not one of them-_

"He-help, please mister!" Sakura rasped out as she grabbed onto his legs. "They killed my mommy-the monsters-they're coming!" She shook uncontrollably as the man looked at her thoughtfully, unable to see the strange gleam in his eyes.

"Your mother is dead? What about your father?" He raised a brow when she shook her head. No father, then.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Sakura."

He smiled down at her.

"Sakura, why don't you come with me?"

* * *

He stood in front of the window, watching and waiting, nibbling on the piece of bread he'd snagged from the kitchen when Miss Anko wasn't looking.

But then again, she always looked the other way. That's why he likes her so much.

He paused as a figure approached his home, shoving the rest of the bread into his mouth when he recognised the approaching figure. He chewed as fast as he could as he ran towards the front door, opening it and then gaping at the sight before him, not even wincing when he was shoved to the side and his back hit the wall.

He continued to watch as the man who'd shoved him aside dropped a small figure to the ground. His heart clenched with sympathy and fear.

"Oi, Anko!" The grumpy looking man called out, well, grumpily. A purple haired woman rushed into the room, wiping her hands across her apron, eyes widening when she saw the new addition to their home.

"New kid. Found her in the forest. You know the drill," he muttered and walked off towards the hallway on the left.

The little boy waited till the man had slammed the door of his room shut before scampering over to the girl lying in the middle of the room. He crouched down beside her head and ran a hand through his golden hair, and reached out, hesitating a little before placing his hand on her shoulder.

He swallowed at the striking green orbs that stared back at him when she finally opened her eyes, wondering how he could make her feel better.

He had no idea that after the terror she'd felt ever since she first woke up that day, it was a relief to open her eyes and see kind blue eyes instead of monsters or normal looking but secretly-evil men. She wondered if the oceans her mother had described to her once were as blue as the gems she was looking at now.

She'd never forget how the warm hand felt on her cold and bruised body.

Sakura would do anything to keep that warmth with her forever.

* * *

 _ **Let me know what you think!**_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

 _Year-X775_

* * *

"I'm-I'm sorry! Miss Chiyo, _please don't-_ " A young girl cried out as she was dragged into the hall by her hair. The elderly woman who currently had a tight hold on her pale locks grunted in annoyance and threw her to the ground. She ignored the children peering at them from every corner, wondering what was going on.

"If you were truly sorry, you would not have done it again. You will recieve the appropriate punishment." She pursed her lips as a child ran into the room, stopping once they reached the girl's side.

"Miss Chiyo, it was me! I did it. It wasn't Sakura!" He pleaded while trying to shield his companion with his body.

Miss Chiyo narrowed her eyes before raising her hand and striking the boy across the face, knocking him aside in a second. Every child watching the display winced at that, but didn't dare to help the boy up, knowing it would only anger the old woman even more.

She closed her eyes at the sound of sniffles coming from the crumpled figure on the floor.

* * *

Sakura frowned at her friend's busted lip, currently being stretched as he grinned at her happily.

"Why did you do that?" She asked as she scrubbed the floor of the attic clean. Naruto shrugged as he shifted another box to the other side of the room.

"It was _our_ plan, Sakura. It wouldn't be fair if you were the only one punished for it," he shifted another box before dusting the space behind it, wrinkling his nose at the amount of dust he found.

"But she hit you," She ground out, scrubbing even harder. "You're _bleeding._ "

The blond shrugged again and turned to ruffle her hair once. "No big deal. I'm used to it."

 _But you shouldn't be,_ she wanted to say. She knew it wouldn't do a thing.

"We'll get out of here," she vowed to herself, missing the smile he sent her, full of trust and faith in _her._

"We will. But did you see the look on Kankuro's face when he took the first bite? I _told you_ putting the extra spicy sauce in his food would be funny!"

Her lips twitched before stretching into a reluctant smile as she recalled the how the other boy had run around like a headless chicken as the children around him howled with laughter. It was a little harsh, but it seemed only fair to the two children after Kankuro's snide comment about Sakura's hair from the other day. He was about two years elder to the duo, which, according to him, give him the right to boss all the younger kids around.

Naruto, of course, refused to take that and immediately started plotting. _'Don't worry, Saku! He's going to pay for that!'_ She just looked on exasperatedly as he glared at Kankuro throughout the day, looking more like an affronted puppy than anything, but she didn't tell him that.

They finished their work quickly before grabbing the buckets and climbing down the stairs, only to stop quickly in their tracks as a purple haired woman came up to them. They blinked at the white box she was carrying and grinned up at her.

"Good afternoon Miss Anko!" They sang in unison as she smiled at them, eyeing Naruto's face carefully.

"I hear you've been causing trouble…again," she stated before gesturing towards one of the rooms and turning around, expecting them to follow after her like a pair of ducklings, which they did. She shut the door behind them quickly as Naruto plopped down on the bed.

"He made fun of Saku's hair," the golden haired boy pouted under the older woman's disapproving gaze. No one could get away with mocking his best friend. Not now, not _ever._

* * *

 _Year- X784_

* * *

It was windy today.

Sasuke looked on curiously as the person standing right in front of him stared at the seemingly abandoned cottage situated deep in the woods. Glancing around cautiously, he almost jumped when his companion spoke.

"Wait here." He didn't even get a chance to protest. Alright, then. He walked over to a tree stump and sank down in boredom. They were probably going to be here for a while.

He could be patient.

About twenty minutes later, he reached the end of his limit and stalking into the building, crinkling his nose at his new surroundings. Rubbing his nose as he felt a sneeze coming, the raven haired man started looking around the house for his partner.

' _Where the heck did that weirdo run off to?'_ He exited what seemed to be the dining room and started walking up the stairs, passing a couple of bedrooms before pausing and backtracking quickly as he finally found the person he'd been searching for in one of the bedrooms. He entered quickly, barely glancing at the space in the wall or the brick that had been pulled out of it.

"Never could wait too long, could you?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the mocking tone and sat down on the bed next to her, leaning in to read the note in her hands and ignoring the annoyed huff.

 _Pink Soldier_

 _Everything is in place! Proceed with…uh…cow-cah-oh! Caution. (I think?)_

 _Scream if you need me!_

 _GB_

He tilted his head a little and glanced back at her. "You're obviously 'Pink Soldier," he ignored her glower easily and went on. "Who's GB?"

"Golden Boy. The one we're looking for," she muttered as she put the note back in the wooden box she'd pulled from the wall.

"Ah. Got it." He studied her face for a few seconds before slinging an arm around her shoulder. He squeezed her tighter when she half-heartedly tried to elbow him in the ribs.

"We'll find him, Princess-I mean, _Pink Soldier._ You're not alone anymore."

Sakura held on to the box she thought she wouldn't see again, resting her head on his shoulder as she remembered busted lips and near-blinding smiles, that she thought she'd get to keep forever.


End file.
